DZ BANK attaches great importance to responsible corporate management. Our first priority is not to satisfy formal standards but rather to achieve a level of corporate management that is both long term and geared toward the creation of value.

Our aim is to ensure that DZ BANK is a model of corporate governance, an important contributing factor in maintaining and developing the trust of customers, owners, employees, and the general public. This takes into account the special features of our cooperative financial services network.

Cooperation between the Board of Managing Directors and Supervisory Board

Our Board of Managing Directors, which has seven members, manages the Bank and is responsible for developing corporate strategy.

The members of the Supervisory Board of DZ BANK are elected by the Annual General Meeting. In accordance with the German Codetermination Act (MitBestG), the members of the Supervisory Board also include ten employee representatives. Members of the Board of Managing Directors of DZ BANK are not permitted to transfer directly to the Supervisory Board when they leave the Board of Managing Directors.

The Supervisory Board and its committees monitor and advise DZ BANK's Board of Managing Directors and cooperate closely with them. Among other things, this means that the Board of Managing Directors informs the Supervisory Board at an early stage of any relevant developments.

Principles of the Financial Stability Board

Along with seven other major banks and insurers in Germany, DZ BANK signed up to the principles of the Financial Stability Board (FSB) in December 2009. Afterwards, the Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin) [Federal Financial Supervisory Authority] made the FSB's principles governing remuneration systems mandatory for all German banks.

Transparent financial reporting in accordance with IFRS

To ensure that we supply all our shareholders with information that is as comprehensive and transparent as possible, our consolidated financial statements and all interim financial statements comply with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The consolidated financial statements are prepared by the Board of Managing Directors and are then audited by an independent firm of auditors and reviewed by the Supervisory Board.